Well, I’ve finally got round to using my 40th Birthday present from lots of you kind folks – a one-to-one tuition day with Ed Oxley of Great Rock fame.Although I can ride fast and ride all day, cornering / balance and moving weight forward and backwards over rocky terrain is something I’m just not as good at compared to other riders, so that’s really what I wanted to improve on with Ed.

It was about a 2 and a half hour drive north this morning which made a really pleasant change to half an hour south every other morning. There’s something about heading North – especially to Calderdale and Hebden Bridge – that feels so much more right than heading south.

I know Hebden Bridge quite well having done some fell running there, some adventure racing, some mountain biking and of course the Mary Towneley Loop passes right through it. It’s a lovely small quiet town which is bustling with unusual shops and boutiques and loads of cafes more importantly !

We met up 10ish at Blazing Saddles. Ed’s a really relaxed guy so that made it easy for me. I think me having a lot to learn made it easy for Ed too !

I’m very proud to be running this day with Alan and Dave who are both very experienced cyclocross racers and Three Peaks obsessives. The course is suitable for cyclocross racers as well as people who have a ‘cross bike and would just like to learn how to ride it better.

The new Jumps for Dads skills courses have been going down a treat. Bunny hops, slow speed drops, faster drops and table top jumps have all been aired by the dads. Here’s a video from yesterday’s course.

We’ve been riding steep rocky trails, steps, drop offs, switchbacks and learning how to weight and unweight the bike. Learning to do a proper bunny hop is an invaluable trail riding skill and this is at the core of this course.

We’ve got some of the best riding in the country here and it’s been great fun running these courses for me. We also have top notch cafes to have lunch in and a brilliant mountain biker friendly pub in which to stage the ultimate debrief.